What Exactly is Thymer, and What Does it Do?

What is Thymer?

Thymer is a task management website that allows an individual or group to create an online source that is the equivalent of a "To Do" list.

What Does Thymer Do?

Thymer has the ability for a user to input an event into what looks like a search bar. This creates a calendar in list form that shows every "task" that is needed to be done. The task management aspect of Thymer is easy to use as a group, as it allows people to join "teams" and comment on tasks. This allows for better coordination, communication, and team management.

What can Thymer Members Do?

Thymer Members Can:

Add tasks to theTask List.

Create and/or join a team.

Add tasks to team members' lists.

Team members can:

Who Uses Thymer?

Thymer is for anyone who feels that they will benefit from added organization and task management. In the business setting, teams can use it to coordinate with each other by viewing who is working on what part of a business project, and what parts still need to be done.

I. History

A. Development

According to the creators of Thymer, the initial development of Thymer started roughly 3 and a half years. They launched the private beta in May 2009 and received extensive coverage from major blogs right away. In October 2009, Thymer launched their product commercially. It was developed by Stunf, a small company located in Eindhoven, The Netherlands.

Thymer was developed by two graduate students named Wim Cools and Diederik van Houten. The goal was to create an easy-to-use task management program because they were not satisfied with other programs out there. When asked why they created Thymer, the Stunf team responded with, "Mostly because the existing task and project management software didn't suit our style of work. We realized we couldn't be the only ones thinking this way, so we built the product. It turns out there are a lot of people who really love Thymer's approach to Task and Project Management." It was originally created for just the Dutch, however, they realized that the market was too small so they opened it up to the entire world.Thymer is free to use for individual use. There is a monthly subscription for groups or small businesses to use, which unlocks different features of the application for you to use.

B. How Thymer Works

First of all, Thymer is completely free, as long as you are an individual. If you are part of a team that is working on a project and using Thymer, they require a monthly subscription. The following is a link to the pricing page for Thymer:http://www.thymer.com/signup/

Once you are signed into Thymer, the user interface is quite simple. What is seen resembles a search bar for a website. All that needs to be done is to type in the task that you wish to put on the task list.

Once there are tasks on the task list, it is best to get familiar with the quick buttons on either side of the task. These are: Done, Log time, Edit, Discussion, Delete, Discussion (again), Important, Billable, and Waiting for.

If help is needed to figure out the application, a tutorial video is posted on Thymer's homepage: http://www.thymer.com/

Now that you have an account set up, you can add other people to your team to help with the coordination of a project. All the other people need are Thymer accounts.Below is an image of thymer captured from one of our team members.

C. Getting More Out of the Application

As stated earlier, Thymer charges for groups or businesses to use their software. Along with a monthly fee, there are also added features that the individuals using Thymer for free do not receive. The table below shows the benefits you receive when you pay a monthly subscription.

Free $5/Month $25/Month $50/Month

Tasks

Unlimited

Unlimited

Unlimited

Unlimited

Private Projects

4

Unlimited

Unlimited

Unlimited

Reminders

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

SSL

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Time Tracking

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Reports & Feed

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Create A Team

No

No

Yes

Yes

Team Projects

No

No

Yes

Yes

Permissions

No

No

No

Yes

Branding

No

No

No

Yes

Sub Teams

No

No

No

Yes

The five dollar column is for individuals who are just wanting to unlock the extra features that are included within the column, however, the twenty five and fifty dollar columns are based on how many people are using the project under one "license." Twenty five dollars per month will get you six users. There is a less expensive subscription option that unlocks the same features for fourteen dollars, but only three users can work on that. For forty dollars a month ten users are able to access the same account that opens up the same features.

The fifty dollar column encompasses a larger group of people, you can have five users for thirty dollars, ten users for fifty dollars, fifteen users for seventy dollars, and twenty five users for one hundred dollars.

On top of that (if your team has more than twenty five users) you can e-mail the creators and they will work out a monthly price based on how many team members you have.

II. How does Thymer Relate to Other Applications?

A. Thymer's Unique Features

Thymer is extremely organized. It is easy to read and all on one unique page layout. You are able to talk to other members through discussion boards and comments. You are also allowed to give permission to the website for other people to access, otherwise it can be as private as you need it to be. You have the ability to keep track of the hours worked and view yours and other team members responsibilities. Thymer has tabs that allow you to easily organize your tasks. Lastly, it features the capability to create schedules and timelines for your group, the notifications also can be sent to your email or phone to keep everyone on top of the task!

Thymer's accessibility is what sets them apart from other competitors. For individuals, Thymer is a free and easy to use organizer, there is nothing tricky or complicated about it's use. However, Thymer is essentially a new program and thus it's name has not had time to circulate the web like some other applications that have been in use for a longer period of time. Unlike mainstream organizers that are available via webdownload, Thymer is not covered with spam advertisements or constant pop ups, the site is dedicated to the organization of the user and that is what sets it apart from other competitors as well. When it comes to organization, Thymer is the complete package.

On Thymer's website, they state 11 clear points to summarize their vision. They stress how clear and easy their product is to use. They also take pride in the fact that very little maintenance is required to use the product. This makes Thymer very appealing to customers who might otherwise consider using a different product. That fact that you can also use the product for free before purchasing a monthly subscription is convienant as well.

B. Thymer's Unique Uses

This program allows you to create a personal task list in order to better organize you life. It also allows you to add people to your team in order to better coordinate work done on projects. Another unique you is that you can discuss tasks with other people on your team in order to provide information or help on issues they are having. The last unique use is that you can flag tasks with certain lablwes in order to remind you what needs to be done.

III. Real World Application

A. Educational Lesson plans

Thymer is a great tool to use in the classroom; either to help yourself keep a task list on what needs to be graded, or events such as picture day that will need to be planned around, or to teach your students how to get better organized with their lives in general, or just homework.

Below are links to Elementary, Secondary, and Post Secondary lesson plans that we have built as examples to help illustrate the versatility of Thymer in the classroom.

1. Elementary Lesson Plan:

This is a lesson plan for elementary school students who are being introduced to Thymer for the first time.

This is a lesson plan for where the students are split into groups and each group is given a subject to research for a week. Thymer is to be used to coordinate work and at the end of the week students will teach the class.

This lesson plan is for a fifth grade "Gifted and Talented" class that is participating in a science fair. The students are working on science fair projects in groups and use Thymer in order to help coordinate efforts on the project.

The purpose of this lesson plan is to allow students to work individually as well as in groups. Through this lesson students will research an assigned poet and collaborate with group members through discussion on Thymer. In the end, students will create a Powerpoint to present to the class.

This lesson plan teaches students how to effectively plan and prepare nutritious meals for one week. They will use Thymer in order to stay on task and organized. Thymer will help remind them what ingredients they need to get, when then need to get them, and when they will prepare each meal.

In this lesson students will work in groups to create working go-carts that will be raced at the end of the semester. They will use science, technology, engineering, and math skills that were taught in class to build their go-carts. They will be evaluated on how well their go-cart performs and by their record log from Thymer. (S.T.E.M.)Go-Cart (doc)

The purpose of this lesson is to create a professional and creative presentation about a particular event in history. Students will create engaging class activities and discussions for their project. They will be graded on their Thymer record logs and how well the information was presented.

B. Business/Industry Uses

Imagine you held an important position within a major architectural firm. You were assigned a new job designing a building for a big client. You are looking for a new way to keep yourself organized and on time with different tasks that need to be completed within the project. A friend suggests that you use Thymer, an online organizational tool aimed at helping you meet project deadlines.

You decide to check it out and realize that this simple tool is everything you have been looking for to keep yourself on track. Thymer has many simple features that allow you to create separate projects, discuss projects with team members, and set important deadlines.

Different projects and tasks can be color coded and marked as important, making sure a single step or a deadline will not be forgotten! As long as you have access to the internet, you have access to Thymer. Who wants the hassle of having to carry around a planner? With Thymer you will never miss a step!

IV. How Thymer is Used Internationally

Thymer can be accessed from anywhere at anytime, because it is a web based application. From a technical perspective: Thymer supports all languages, so if you want to write in Mandarin Chinese or in Turkish, with Thymer you can. Thymer also keeps track of time zones so if you are working with a certain person who is in a different time zone than your current one. When you add a task such as a teleconference, it will take whatever time you put in and convert it into their time zone, that way no one will have to worry about being on the wrong time.